Hierarchical Linear Regression Research Articles

Social sustainability in local communities in Norway: which factors are associated with people's satisfaction with their local community as a place to live now and in the future?

To investigate the associations between social sustainability factors and people's satisfaction with their local community as a place to live now and in the future. This study used data from the Norwegian County Public Health Survey conducted in Viken County, Norway, in 2021 (N = 97,323). The survey included questions concerning physical aspects (e.g. accessibility of services and facilities) and non-physical aspects (civic participation, social support, trust, safety, place attachment and well-being) of social sustainability in local communities. A new outcome variable was constructed to capture people's satisfaction with their local community as a place to live now and in the future. Hierarchical linear regression was applied to examine the relationships between physical and non-physical factors of social sustainability and this outcome. All included factors were significantly associated with people's satisfaction with their local community as a place to live now and in the future, but the magnitude and direction of these associations varied. Place attachment (β = 0.53), safety (β = 0.15) and well-being (β = 0.11) were the strongest indicators of people's satisfaction with their local community. Non-physical factors accounted for 41% of the variance in people's satisfaction, while physical factors accounted for 14%. Both physical and non-physical factors are essential for developing socially sustainable communities. This knowledge could be valuable for academics and policymakers, helping them better understand the complex relationships between various aspects of social sustainability and informing the development of socially sustainable local communities.

Impact of behavioral inhibitory control and startle reactivity to uncertain threat on youth suicide risk.

Poor inhibitory control and exaggerated threat reactivity are two well-established risk factors for suicide. Theory suggests that these two factors may interact to influence suicide risk, although few studies have directly tested these relationships. In the present study, we examined the unique and interactive effects of inhibitory control (IC) and threat reactivity on self-reported suicide risk in a sample of 132 youth, ages 16-19. The stop signal task was used as a behavioral index of IC. Threat reactivity was captured using a modified version of the No-Predictable-Unpredictable threat paradigm that includes threat of predictable (P-) and unpredictable (U-) mild electrical shock. Startle eyeblink potentiation was measured throughout the task as an index of aversive responding. All participants completed a battery of well-validated self-report measures including current suicide risk. Hierarchical linear regression analyses controlling for age and sex revealed no main effects of IC or threat reactivity. However, there was a significant IC by reactivity to uncertain threat (U-threat) interaction. At lower levels of IC, greater startle reactivity to U-threat was associated with greater suicide risk. At higher levels of IC, there was no association between reactivity to U-threat and suicide risk. These results suggest that individual differences in IC and reactivity to U-threat interact to influence suicide cognitions, shedding light on potential subgroups of individuals who might be at elevated risk.

The Relationship Between Perceived Nursing Workload and Occupational Fatigue in Clinical Nurses: The Moderating Role of Nursing Teamwork.

This study investigated the association between perceived nursing workload and occupational fatigue in clinical nurses. We specifically focused on how nursing teamwork moderates this relationship. Hospital nurses often face heavy workloads, leading to significant fatigue. Understanding the link between workload, fatigue and teamwork is crucial to addressing nurse burnout. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 356 clinical nurses from five educational-therapeutic hospitals in Ardabil, Iran. Data were collected using validated instruments, including the Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery-15 (OFER) scale, the Quantitative Workload Inventory (QWI) and the Nursing Teamwork Survey (NTS). Hierarchical linear regression analysis assessed the relationships between perceived workload, occupational fatigue and nursing teamwork. The study's findings show that increased nursing workloads were significantly linked to higher levels of both acute (B = 5.70 to 6.76, p < 0.001) and chronic fatigue (B = 6.71 to 7.16, p < 0.001). Additionally, effective nursing teamwork, comprising trust, team orientation, support, shared mental models and team leadership was associated with reduced fatigue levels. Our study shows high workloads are linked to increased fatigue among nursing professionals. Teamwork can help lessen the adverse effects of workload on fatigue. Healthcare organisations should focus on optimising workload distribution and strengthening teamwork. Further research is needed to understand these dynamics and develop targeted interventions to support nursing staff in high-demand environments. The study emphasises the need for healthcare organisations to prioritise workload management and enhance teamwork among nursing staff. Implementing structured workload assessments and fostering a collaborative work environment, along with policies promoting work-life balance, can improve patient care quality, benefit nursing professionals and contribute to a more resilient healthcare system.

Unravelling Students’ Attitudes Toward Lifelong Exercise

Background. A central purpose of learning in physical education (PE) is to facilitate students’ physical development and competence that determine lifelong engagement in exercise. Therefore, exploring and understanding students’ attitudes toward lifelong exercise contributes significantly to achieving it. Objectives. Two studies examined students’ attitudes toward lifelong exercise. The first study focused on using social and personal variables as predictors. The second study involved a repeated measures design to determine if there were differences in attitudes as students progressed to the next grade and between schools. Additionally, the study aimed to investigate whether there were variations in attitudes based on the students’ physical activity levels. Materials and methods. In the first study, 752 students of the 7th and 10th grades participated, representing 47 classes from 14 schools. Then, after conducting a repeated measures analysis one academic year later, from the initial sample, 460 students formed two cohorts, comprising Grades 7–8 and 10–11. All factors were internally consistent and well-defined by the variables. The first study used hierarchical linear regression to ascertain whether social and personal variables could be identified as predictors of students’ attitudes toward lifelong exercise. The second study used a mixed ANOVA to assess differences in students’ attitudes, measuring at two time points and between schools. Furthermore, a one-way ANOVA was performed to determine whether there were variations depending on students’ physical activity level. Results. According to the findings of this study, personal variables eliminated the significance of social variables, with task orientation having the highest beta (.33). The results also revealed a significant interaction between measurements in Grades 7 and 8, as well as between schools. Moderately and highly active students had more positive attitudes than sedentary students in both cohorts. Conclusions. Task orientation and personal progress should be emphasized to increase students’ motivation. Nevertheless, a task-supportive climate could improve their intrinsic motivation for lifelong exercise.

Linking adolescents’ phubbing to depression: the serial mediating effects of peer relationship quality and psychological need frustration

IntroductionPhubbing is defined as a phenomenon in which individuals use their smartphones during conversations with others, focusing on the smartphones and escaping from interpersonal interactions. This phenomenon has been extensively studied in the literature. However, most studies concerning phubbing have focused on understanding its impact on the receivers; few have investigated the consequences of phubbing on the actors themselves. The present study aimed to explore the link between adolescents’ phubbing behavior and depression, focusing on the underlying psychological mechanisms.MethodsA total of 441 Chinese high school students participated in this study in September 2023. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used to analyze the data. A hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to test the effect of phubbing on depression. A serial mediation model was applied to assess the roles of peer relationship quality and psychological need frustration in the link between phubbing and depression.ResultsThis study found that among adolescents, (1) phubbing had a significant direct association with depression; (2) phubbing had two significant indirect associations with depression, separately mediated via peer relationship quality and psychological need frustration; (3) the direct effect of phubbing on depression was sequentially mediated through peer relationship quality and psychological need frustration; (4) these results were applicable to both male and female adolescents.DiscussionThese findings suggested that interventions aimed at improving peer relationships and addressing psychological need frustration might reduce depressive symptoms associated with phubbing in adolescents.

Cultivating communications skills as career preparation through multiple project experiences

Communication skills remain in high demand among employers. PBL provides multiple opportunities for students to practice communication. Yet there is little exploration of PBL environments’ potential for aiding student communications development. We used quasi-experimental methods to examine whether the communication skills gained during PBL increased with multiple high-quality projects and the extent to which those communication skills contributed to career preparation. We surveyed 420 alumni from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and conducted one way analyses of variance and hierarchical multiple linear regression. Alumni attribute significant improvement in their communication skills to their experiences with project-based learning, which increased significantly with multiple high-quality project experiences. Gains in communication skills was a significant predictor of how prepared alumni report being for their careers, even after controlling for growth in self-efficacy and the specific influence of capstone project experiences. This study is one of the first to look at the return on investment to students’ learning of having multiple project experiences.

Reported higher general early-life bullying victimization is uniquely associated with more eating pathology and poor psychosocial well-being in Chinese sexual minority men

General early-life bullying victimization is a useful early-life marker of eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being later in life. We expand existing research in this area to Chinese sexual minority (SM) men, a vulnerable and under-researched subgroup, by considering associations of general early-life bullying victimization with current eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being. We assessed demographics, general early-life bullying victimization, past appearance teasing, current thinness- and muscularity-oriented eating and body image disturbances, and current psychosocial well-being in Chinese SM men (N=433). Correlation and hierarchical linear regressions examined the study hypotheses. Beyond covariates (e.g., age) and past appearance teasing, general early-life bullying victimization explained significant, unique variance in all outcome variables. Specifically, higher general early-life bullying victimization was uniquely associated with higher current thinness- and muscularity-oriented eating and body image disturbances and poorer psychosocial well-being. Consistent with research in the Western context, findings suggest that general early-life bullying victimization is a meaningful, positive correlate of current eating and body image disturbances and poor psychosocial well-being in Chinese SM men. Future research considering minority stress as a theoretical backdrop may help explain associations between general early-life bullying victimization and negative health outcomes.

A Comprehensive Model of Community Violence Exposure Outcomes Using an Ecological Systems Framework.

Community violence (CV) is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and anger; however, many individuals also exhibit resilience. Considering the multifinality of outcomes following CV and guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework, the current study sought to examine individual, microsystem, and exosystem level factors in relation to PTSS, anger, and resilience. Participants were 536 emerging adults (Mage = 20.13; SD = 1.81, range = 18-25) recruited from two universities. Three hierarchical linear regression models were conducted, one for each dependent variable (i.e., PTSS, anger, resilience). Block 1 included the covariates of recruitment site and age. Block 2 added individual-level factors (i.e., gender, race, income, CV exposure, other trauma exposure, code of the streets [COS] beliefs, religiosity), Block 3 added microsystem-level factors (i.e., parental monitoring, social support), and Block 4 added exosystem-level factors (i.e., community cohesion, community disorder). Identifying as female, higher levels of CV and other trauma exposure, and lower levels of social support were associated with greater PTSS. Recruitment site, more cumulative trauma, stronger endorsement of COS beliefs, lower levels of social support, and higher levels of community disorder were associated with higher levels of problematic anger. Higher income, identifying as a racial minority, higher levels of CV, more religiosity, higher levels of social support, and greater community cohesion were associated with more resilience. These findings highlight the importance of examining ecological systems concurrently. Individual- and microsystem-level variables may be key targets and should be considered in intervention and prevention services for emerging adults exposed to violence.

Therapy Mode Preference Scale: Preliminary Validation Methodological Design.

The use of tele-mental health care increased rapidly in 2020 as a critical response to the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as an effective contact-free alternative to treatment. Today, tele-mental health care remains a viable option for individuals with geographic and physical barriers to treatment. However, there are several potential therapeutic disadvantages to tele-mental health care (ie, missing nonverbal signals, handling crises, confidentiality, weakened social connection in group therapy) that should be evaluated. While published literature has explored client satisfaction within teletherapy and the effect of using technology for tele-mental health care demands, there is a need for published surveys that evaluate the therapeutic experience in teletherapy and in-person mediums of care. The authors of this study sought to develop and validate a survey that could evaluate the comparative impact of teletherapy and in-person care from a therapeutic perspective across key factors (ie, therapeutic alliance, engagement, rapport, and confidentiality). Participants were clients who experienced both tele-mental health care and in-person therapy at an intensive outpatient mental health treatment program for young adults from April 2020 through June 2022. Generated items on the survey were formulated based on input from experts in the field and existing validated scales. All individuals completed the survey on the internet, following informed consent (n=89). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to understand factor structure, and Cronbach α was used to determine internal consistency. Incremental validity was demonstrated through a hierarchical linear regression. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a 14-item, 3-factor structure. All 14 items correlated at a minimum of 0.30 with at least one other item. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.75 and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (χ291=528.41, P<.001). In total, 3 factors accounted for 61% of the variance, and the preliminary Cronbach α (α=0.71) indicates a satisfactory level of internal consistency. The Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale (ZEF) and Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ; -0.29) were significantly correlated, as well as the ZEF and Therapy Mode Preference Scale (TMPS; -0.31), and CSQ and TMPS (0.50; P<.001). Hierarchical linear regression revealed that the CSQ significantly accounted for additional variance in the TMPS (P<.001). With the ZEF entered into the model, no further variance was accounted for (P=.06). Continual research is warranted to expand the current findings by validating this standardized tool for assessing the therapeutic impact of teletherapy versus in-person care in a generalizable population.

Examining healthcare professional delivery of health behaviour change interventions during a public health emergency: A multi-professional survey among NHS healthcare professionals.

This study aimed to assess the extent to which healthcare professional characteristics and perceptions of major stressors during a public health emergency were associated with delivering health behaviour change interventions. A survey was administered in 2022 to a representative sample of 1008 healthcare professionals working in the UK's National Health Service (NHS). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression. Older respondents, higher levels of job satisfaction, being a nurse or health visitor, and reporting higher levels of perceived impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency were associated with higher prevalence of delivering interventions. Higher levels of emotional job stress were associated with greater time spent delivering interventions (but not with a higher prevalence of contacts involving intervention delivery). Interventions targeted at younger healthcare professionals, those reporting lower job satisfaction, and healthcare professionals other than nurses or health visitors would be particularly beneficial.

Aerobic performance in rats subjected to incremental-speed running exercise: a multiple regression analysis study emphasizing thermoregulation-related variables.

Single-variable analyses have limited ability to explain complex phenomena such as the regulation of prolonged physical (aerobic) performance. Our study aimed to identify predictors of performance in rats subjected to incremental-speed running exercise. Notably, most variables assessed were associated with rats’ thermoregulation. We extracted data from 355 records obtained in 216 adult Wistar rats. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictive power of eight variables. The distance traveled, a performance index, was the dependent variable. The independent variables included body mass, biological sex, body core temperature (TCORE) measurement site, and the following thermoregulation-related variables: ambient temperature (TAMB), initial TCORE, exercise-induced change in TCORE (ΔTCORE), ΔTCORE from 0 to 10 min (ΔTCORE 0-10; when TCORE increase is fastest), and heat loss index (HLI). This analysis with eight variables revealed an adjusted R2 of 0.495; TAMB, ΔTCORE, body mass, and ΔTCORE 0-10 had the highest predictive powers (β values: -0.700, 0.463, -0.353, and -0.130, respectively). Additional analyses consisted of separate regressions for each TCORE index measured: abdominal (TABD), brain (TBRAIN), and colonic (TCOL) temperature. These analyses yielded adjusted R2 values of 0.608 (TABD), 0.550 (TBRAIN), and 0.437 (TCOL). Again, the distance traveled was primarily predicted by body mass and thermoregulation-related variables (TAMB, ΔTCORE, and ΔTCORE 0-10). Among these four variables, ΔTCORE was the only one with a positive β value (directly predicted performance), while the others had negative values. Collectively, these findings advance our understanding of performance regulation in rats, especially regarding the role of thermoregulation-related variables.

Body compassion in the context of cancer: A novel exploration among colorectal cancer survivors.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) significantly impacts patients' physical well-being, often leading to distress and diminished quality of life (QOL). Body compassion (i.e., viewing one's body with kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity) could be relevant to psychosocial adjustment to cancer but has yet to be explored within the cancer context. This study aimed to introduce a novel measure of body compassion and examine its associations with demographic, medical, and psychosocial variables among CRC patients. Fifty-four patients with CRC completed a one-time survey assessing demographics, body compassion [Body Compassion Scale (BCS)], distress (HADS), loneliness (ULS-8), resilience (CD-RISC-10), and QOL (FACT-C). Descriptive and internal consistency reliability statistics characterized the BCS. Relationships with demographic, medical, and psychosocial variables were examined using correlations, t-tests, and hierarchical linear regressions. The BCS showed excellent internal consistency reliability (α = .94) (M = 82.1, SD = 19.0). Patients with metastatic CRC (vs. non-metastatic; BCS total MDiff = 12.2, CI95% [0.4, 24.0]; defusion MDiff = 5.0, CI95% [-0.4, 10.3]; common humanity MDiff = 5.7, CI95% [-0.5, 12.0]) and those in treatment (vs. not; BCS total MDiff = 14.1, CI95% [0.5, 27.6]; defusion MDiff = 6.2, CI95% [0.1, 12.3]) reported lower body compassion. Higher total body compassion was associated with lower distress (B = -0.235, CI95% [-0.32, -0.15]) and loneliness (B = -0.104, CI95% [-0.18, -0.03]), and higher resilience (B = 0.215, CI95% [0.12, 0.31]) and quality of life (B = 0.811, CI95% [0.50, 1.12]). Among the BCS subscales, defusion demonstrated the most robust associations with medical (time since diagnosis, current ostomy, current treatment, metastatic disease) and psychosocial variables [distress (β = -.334), loneliness (β = -.444), resilience (β = .585)]; acceptance showed strong associations with distress (β = -.310) and quality of life (β = .384). Body compassion appears relevant to psychosocial adjustment to CRC treatment and survivorship and may be particularly germane for patients with high disease burden. Further research on body compassion in cancer is warranted, such as longitudinal and multi-method designs across cancer populations.

Audit Committee Characteristics, Firm Size and Financial Performance of Deposit Taking Saccos in Kenya

The purpose of the research was to evaluate how internal audit practices and standards affected deposit-taking SACCO financial performance in Kenya. The research also sought to determine how Sacco size affected the link between the financial performance of Kenyan deposit-taking SACCOs and internal audit practices and standards. Agency theory served as the theoretical foundation for the study. The research philosophy that guided this work is in line with positivism. A descriptive survey approach was used in the investigation. Participants in the research were chief accountants, chiefs of internal audit, and financial managers from deposit-accepting SACCOs in Kenya. The research had 504 individuals. 223, the desired sample size, was selected using a conventional random sampling procedure. A structured questionnaire was used in the investigation. Eight SACCOs participated in a pilot test, however the findings were left out of the final analysis. The data was examined using both descriptive and inferential statistics. To describe the data, the research employed descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percentages. Using SPSS version 26, inferential analysis included basic linear regression and hierarchical regression. The calculated coefficient of determination (R square) of 0.373, P=0.000, indicates that 37.3% of the variation in the financial performance of Deposit Taking Saccos in Kenya can be explained by the audit committee characteristics. The relationship between the size of the Sacco and audit committee characteristics had a substantial moderating influence on the financial performance of Deposit Taking Saccos (R2=0.646, P=0.001). The impact of audit committee characteristics on financial performance increases significantly by 0.162 units for every unit increase in Sacco size (P=0.001). Therefore, the study concluded that Sacco size is a significant moderator and recommended that SACCOs with larger member deposits should prioritize the composition and effectiveness of their audit committees, ensuring that they are well-equipped with financial expertise and oversight capabilities. This will enable them to effectively manage their resources and operations, ultimately enhancing financial performance.

Mental Health in China: Social Change in Life Course Trajectories

AbstractKnowledge about life course trajectories and intercohort changes in mental health is limited mainly to Western populations. To address this gap, our study analyzes mental health trajectories in China, drawing on data on depressive symptoms from the China Family Panel Studies over the period 2012–2020 (N = 31,700 individuals aged 16–70; N = 87,787 person‐years). Employing hierarchical linear regression models, our findings reveal moderate increases in depressive symptoms over the life course and across cohorts. Subgroup analyses indicate that women, people with lower educational attainment, and people with rural hukou experienced more depressive symptoms and a more pronounced increase in depressive symptoms with age. These disparities narrowed across cohorts. We discuss these patterns in the context of Chinese cultural dynamics, including son preference, the impact of education and hukou on the accumulation of stress over the life course, family policy and equity policy transitions, and the changing stigma of mental health.

A Political-Economic Model of Community and Societal Health Resources: A 92-Country Global Analysis.

The quality and access to healthcare systems depend on community health resources, infrastructure, and funding; however, a significant disparity in these resources persists globally. The effectiveness of national health systems depends on a balanced approach to health spending, access to facilities and a skilled local health workforce. What accounts for country-level differences in those critical community and societal health resources? We proposed and tested a model that leverages political and socioeconomic factors to predict various health resources and services in countries. Data, including community health training, research, and support, universal health coverage, healthcare infrastructure, and per capita health expenditure, were collected and analysed by statistical methods, like bivariate correlations and hierarchical multiple linear regressions from 105 countries. Countries with more grassroots activism, fiscal decentralisation, freedom, and globalisation and less perceived corruption and inequality had more community and societal health resources. In multivariate analyses, stronger community health training and research is associated with the globalisation index, freedom score, government fiscal decentralisation, and income inequality. The strongest predictor of health insurance coverage and hospital beds was the country's population education index, and of nurses and midwives-per-capita and health expenditures-per-capita was GDP-per-capita. These insights could guide policymaking to reduce global health inequalities.

Pathways to health: A longitudinal examination of protective factors in children with and without preschool anxiety.

Preschool anxiety is highly prevalent and well known to predict risk for future psychopathology. The present study explores whether a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder in preschool interacts with (a) social skills and (b) cognitive ability to longitudinally predict psychopathology, two well-known protective factors, among a sample of 207 children measured at preschool (Mage = 4.34 years) and early childhood (Mage = 6.61 years). To assess social skills and cognitive ability, we utilized the Social Skills Rating Scale and the Differential Abilities Scale, respectively. To assess psychopathology, we utilized the parent report of the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed significant interactions between both social skills and cognitive ability with preschool anxiety. We observed that social skills protected against emergent psychopathology for both children with and without anxiety, although this association was stronger for children with preschool anxiety. Contrastingly, cognitive ability served as a protective factor against future psychopathology primarily among children without preschool anxiety. Results from this study identify targets for future intervention and inform our understanding of how preschool anxiety, a common disorder among young children, shapes future psychopathology risk in childhood.

Long-Term Moderating Effect of Resilience Capacity on the Impact of Stressful Life Events on Depressive Symptoms After 6 Years in Outpatients With Depression and/or Anxiety

Abstract Previous cross-sectional studies have utilized scales to explore potential indications of the moderating effect of resilience on the relationship between stressful life events (SLEs) and mental health. However, there remains a notable dearth of psychometrically driven models in longitudinal resilience research, especially concerning the prognosis of individuals with affective disorders and/or anxiety. This study aimed to investigate whether baseline resilience capacity, measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, could mitigate the impact of SLEs on depressive symptoms assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II among 66 outpatients with depression and/or anxiety disorders during a follow-up period ranging from 4–8 years. Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that baseline resilience capacity significantly moderated the effect of SLEs on depressive symptoms at the end point, but neither SLEs nor baseline resilience capacity was significantly correlated with depressive symptoms at the end point after controlling for potential confounders. Patients with higher levels of baseline resilience capacity showed fewer depressive symptoms in response to SLEs. These findings underscore the potential of resilience capacity as a promising target for therapeutic interventions.

Unpacking curvilinear relationship of COVID-19 fear on job satisfaction and mental well-being: moderation of on-the-job embeddedness

PurposeOur study aims to investigate how the fear of COVID-19 affects job satisfaction and mental well-being. Additionally, we will explore the moderating role of on-the-job embeddedness in these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe study surveyed 358 Indian-origin IT professionals through Amazon Mechanical Turk. It used confirmatory factor analysis to analyze the measurement model and hierarchical linear regression in SPSS 21 software to examine the structural relationships between variables. A robustness check was conducted using the MODLR macro in SPSS to identify any spurious moderation.FindingsThe results reveal a curvilinear (or U-shaped) relationship between COVID-19 fear, job satisfaction and mental well-being. Further, on-the-job embeddedness linearly moderates the relationship between COVID-19 fear and job satisfaction and COVID-19 fear and mental well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThe research design is cross-sectional, so results reported about causal relationships are considered cautiously. The relationships involving the variables and their direction are because of the theory’s assumptions rather than the test of causal relationships between variables.Originality/valueThis is the first study to show that the relationship between COVID-19 fear and job satisfaction and COVID-19 fear and mental well-being is curvilinear (or U-shaped). Further, we are again the first to show that on-the-job embeddedness positively moderates the two relationships: COVID-19 fear – job satisfaction and COVID-19 fear – mental well-being. This is one of the few studies that employed MODLR macro to check for spurious moderation.

Narrative abilities of autistic and non-autistic adolescents: The role of mentalising and executive function.

Spoken narrative skills are important for adolescents in their everyday lives. Previous research suggests that producing well-structured and coherent narratives may be challenging for autistic young people. Mentalising, also known as "advanced Theory of Mind" (ToM) and "Executive Function" (EF) are two cognitive abilities frequently explored in relation to autism, both of which may be implicated in narrative ability. The present study investigated these relationships in a group of autistic adolescents (N = 44) aged 11-15 years and a comparable non-autistic group (N = 54) that did not significantly differ on age, sex, nonverbal cognitive ability, or receptive/expressive language skills. Participants were assessed on a video-based spoken narrative task, scored for both overall structure ("story grammar") and narrative coherence. A battery of tasks measuring mentalising and EF (working memory, inhibition, shifting, generativity) was also administered. Relationships between scores on cognitive measures and narrative performance were investigated using hierarchical linear regression analyses. Mentalising scores were found to significantly predict narrative performance across all outcome measures and were a stronger predictor than diagnostic group. Diagnostic group predicted narrative structure ("story grammar") scores but not coherence scores. EF scores were not predictive of narrative ability in this sample. Mentalising skills appear to play an important role for both autistic and non-autistic adolescents in the generation of narrative structure and coherence within spoken accounts.

Exploring the effect of entrepreneurial bricolage and new venture growth

Purpose: This article attempts to find a unique mechanism in the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and new ventures growth by testing the mediating role of market ambidexterity, and the moderating effect of entrepreneurial networks.Design/methodology/approach: This article establishes a research model by considering entrepreneurial bricolage as the independent variable, market ambidexterity as mediators, entrepreneurial networks as a moderate variable, and new ventures growth performance as the dependent variable. The survey data collected from 372 Chinese new ventures were subjected to the hierarchical linear regression method for testing the proposed hypotheses.Findings/results: The results of this study indicate that entrepreneurial bricolage has a positive effect on new ventures growth. However, entrepreneurial networks negatively moderate the positive relationship between the two; In addition, both the balanced of market ambidexterity and combined of market ambidexterity partially mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and new ventures growth. Finally, entrepreneurial networks have different moderating effects on the relationship between market ambidexterity and new ventures.Practical implications: The study highlights the importance of entrepreneurial bricolage and market ambidexterity strategies for sustainable growth in resource-constrained startups, advising them to focus on leveraging internal resources while selectively building entrepreneurial networks to avoid resource dispersion. This approach helps startups enhance resilience and drive long-term development in a dynamic competitive environment.Originality/value: Drawing from ambidexterity and social network capability, this paper extends the existing research on the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and organizational performance from market perspective, confirming the mediating role of market ambidexterity.